(Re)cycler by Lauren McLaughlin

The sequel to Cycler, Recycler picks up three months after the end of Cycler with the same basic premise. Jill McTeague has a unique problem in which for 4 days of the month she transforms into Jack-all parts assembled…if you know what I mean. Jill has a tough decision before her. Does she go to New York with her best friend Ramie so that her alter-ego Jack can be with his girlfriend 4 days a month or does she follow Tommy, and her own heart, on his long planned road trip across the United States?

I looked forward to reading Cycler wondering if the author was going to deal with sexual fluidity and the idea of two genders in one body. She does, but in a subtle way that tries to not offend anybody. Cycler took me a bit to get into-it seems like I was reading the author flushing out the idea of Jill and Jack before my eyes with mixed results but I was still hooked by the characters and their situations.

So, imagine my surprise, when reading an advanced readers copy of Recycler that I found that the ideas have been flushed and everyone is on much more solid ground.  Jack is given a much more prominent role in both substance and thought. The reader cannot help but get to intimately know Jill and Jack in their journey. They are sympathetic characters that despite the crazy scenario-people can relate too. The story moved between the viewpoint of Jack and Jill which can slow the pace down a bit but it still moves quickly. The really tough issues are dealt with almost too easily but readers will easily forgive. Its just one of those books that make you go hmmmm…cue music. 2009, 288 pages.

Exclusively Chloe by J.A. Yang

Chloe Grace is a teenager born into a life of celebrity thanks to her adopted rocker dad and Grammy award winning actress mother. Thrown into the spotlight all her life, when her parents seem on the brink of a divorce Chloe decides she can’t handle it anymore and enrolls in a regular school as a regular kid, Lily. Will a “normal” teenage experience be less drama filled?

This is a light, easy read to enjoy on a weekend. The characters are mildly developed-you really only get to know Chloe-which is part of teen fiction-and the pace is moderate. While most teens will not relate to the glamour filled world Chloe lives in, we all can relate to wanting to fit in and not make any waves in high school. 2009, 245 pages.

Otomen by Aya Kanno

Otomen? What the heck is an otoman? That is the question that made me put a hold on this manga when I ordered it for the library. Otomen, for those who do not know, are men that enjoy girly things. They like to bake, clean, sew and play with sparkly things. They also enjoy reading shojo manga-which is manga geared towards girls. The twist is that despite all these tendencies, otomen are straight.

Asuka is a closet otoman. His father walked out on his family years ago saying he wanted to be a woman.  Asuka’s mother begged him to be a “manly” man so Asuka pushed his true self aside and became the most aloof, masculine and number one in the country in the martial art kendo. When he falls for Ryo-a girl who can’t cook or sew-his oto-tendencies become even harder to control because when you are in love-your true-self tries even harder to come shining through.

I enjoyed this story that mixes around the gender stereotypes we all hold. The main female character is written as a clueless, shojen male charcter and the main male character is what you would expect in a shojo female character. The author herself admits that she is not girly in nature and elaborates on her thought process throughout the book.  Fast paced, light storyline for the most part and a comedy of errors about being ok with who you were born to be. 2009, 200 pages.

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

I picked this book for the fantasy readers’ advisory class this year.  I was looking for a classic fantasy title that was considered one of the best and also didn’t have 700+ pages. Imagine my excitement when a 183 page book fit perfectly. I expect chocolates of thanks from the staff any moment now…

Sparrowhawk or Ged (his true, secret name) is already an archmage and dragonlord when the story opens but the reader is quickly turned to a story of when he was a young boy. Discovering his magical abilities by mistake he is soon on the path to becoming one of the best wizards known. But, Ged’s pride often gets in the way. He feels constantly slighted by his fellow apprentices and is quick to anger.  When he can no longer control his rage a terrible shadow is unleashed into the world that threatens to kill Ged. Full of shame Ged sets out on a journey of discovery on who he is truly meant to be.

Almost always, when I read a science fiction or fantasy book by an exceptional author I am humbled by the experience. With Le Guin the reader is gently schooled on such minor topics as family, self-sacrifice, dignity and being honorable. The journey Ged takes is one that is all at once unknown and familiar. The pace is gentle but the action moves you quickly through the book. Characters are well-developed enough to provide assimilation into the culture and to take great life lessons. The tone of balance versus unbalance will keep readers on edge without realizing it is even happening. Truly exceptional. 1968, 183 pages.

Thanks for the Memories by Cecelia Ahern

There are a few authors out there that I can count on for a really enjoyable read. My criteria for this is pretty simple-lots of laughs, characters I can believe in or relate to and a good well-written story. Not a lot of details, please. I know that about myself and I’m ok with that.

Cecelia Ahern is one of those authors with the exception of she’ll often make me laugh AND cry. I heart Cecelia Ahern.  She does all of the above and she also has a way of pulling on your heart strings without you realizing it until you are knee deep in tissues and laughing out loud as you blow. Geez, I am a mess.

Joyce Conway is haunted. After a terrible accident in which she loses a most precious gift, her already unhappy marriage falls apart and she finds herself moving back in with her father. When she starts spouting off facts and figures that she has no way of knowing and when memories come that are not her own she wonders if she’s finally cracked.

Justin Hitchcock is an American architect who moves to London to be close to his daughter. When in Dublin teaching a class, he is persuaded to donate blood to impress a woman. He goes on and on about how precious his blood is and how he would hope the recipient would shower him with gifts galore.

Where does it go from here? Ahhh, you must read the book! I can’t give away all the good dirt. The pacing is fast. The story is set in London and Dublin but for the most part this is not integral to the story. Ahern is from Ireland, so there are a few terms that can be confusing to American readers. The tone of the book bounces back and forth between despair and hope, grief and chaos. It is an emotional roller coaster that most readers will enjoy. There is a touch of magic in Ahern’s books and my suggestion is to just sit back and let it flow.  2009, 371 pages.

P.S. The audio book is read with an Irish accent. It adds greatly to the authenticity of the experience.

Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

I chose this book as the required reading for the Horror RA class at the Library. I chose it because it was the winner of the Reading List Award (ALA) which celebrates the top genre fiction of the year. Horror is hard to pick out to force someone to read because of the visceral, emotional response it provides. This one seemed safe and yet, even as I type it, the story is haunting me a little bit.

Judas Coyne is an aging rock star with eccentricities that include goth girlfriends 30 years his senior and an odd assortment of macabre items. So, when his gung-ho assistant find a ghost for sale online, he doesn’t hesitate to make the purchase. Only when the ghost shows up does he realize that the purchase is bringing much more than what he bargained for.

What I like about horror and this story especially is that not only is there a ghosty or some creepy thing going on but the real meat lies in the demons that are surrounding the characters and how they have to face their life up to this point to understand how to get out of the situation.  Heart-Shaped Box is definitely a character study of Judas Coyne and the development and back story is really very interesting.  I also felt that the dogs in the story sneeks up on you and before you realized it, you were heavily invested in their part of the story.

I had the pleasure of listening to this on audiobook and the reader, Stephen Long, is exceptional. He captured the voices very well and made for a very creepy and smooth Craddock McDermitt, the ghost haunting Jude. Add to that the ability to shift dialects as the story moved locations and it was delightfully shivery to listen to. 2007,  376 pages.

p.s. Just for fun both Judas and his girlfriend Georgia have myspace pages and Judas has his own imix. Good songs.

Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson

Seventeen-year-old Tyler was a geeky kid who lived in obscurity until he decided to do something about it and committed “the incident” that rocketed him to high school fame and constant scrutiny at the same time. While doing community service, Tyler gets buffed finally gets the attention of the most beautiful girl in school, Bethany, and her bully brother, and his distant, angry father…

Anderson does a good job of getting to the inner turmoil of a typical teenage male. The reader really gets to know the inner struggles Tyler has that bring him to the edge of a very dark place.  The book never feels trite or placating-the emotions are realistic and engaging. 2007, 250 pages. 2008/2009 Gateway Award Nominee.

This Book Isn’t Fat, It’s Fabulous by Nina Beck

Imagine gossip girls for the slightly fluffy set and you have the basic premise behind this book. Riley is uber smart and super rich-she runs with the fast crowd and has a take no prisoners policy when it comes to the boys in her high school and the torture she inflicts on her best “frenemy” Marley.  Riley’s big secret is she has a huge crush on her best friend “D” and her evil step-mom is sending her to fat camp for the summer. If she can just keep all her secrets in the air, she just might survive…

This was a fun, quick read about a fat girl who has more sass and confidence than most fat girls and that makes you want to like her…even if she is a little bit evil. Typical teenage angst and lots of quick wit will have readers laughing throughout.  The additional materials in the form of letters and chat logs add to the humor. 2008, 233 pages.

Sweet Life by Mia King

Marissa Price had the perfect life in Manhattan with a loving husband and adorable eight-year-old daughter.  When her husband, Paul, asks to uproot the family to Hawaii for a new job Marissa envisions a new life in paradise full of beaches, great sunsets and paradise. What she finds is a husband in the throws of a mid-life crisis, a run down house and more cows that beaches in her life.   But, instead of fleeing back to New York, Marissa starts to find her way through the heartache and manages to create a network of close friends and maybe, just maybe, finding the paradise they came there to discover.

There isn’t anything really unexpected in this book.  Marissa is a pretty well-drawn character and the reader gets to understand how she deals with the crisis at hand. The secondary characters bring entertainment and flavor to the book. The setting of the big island of Hawaii and the descriptions of local Hawaii versus what tourists know is a nice change of pace. Many Hawaiian recipes are included at the end of the book. 2008, 337 pages.

After School Nightmare vol. 1-10 by Setona Mizushiro

The After School Nightmare series is the first manga I read and I have to say it has left a lasting impression on me.  Not having any idea what to expect from manga, I thought that if I found one with a subject that interested me, I would be ok.

After School Nightmare focuses on three main characters in high school. Mashiro Ichijo has a secret that he keeps hidden from everyone that knows him. While he presents himself as a boy, he is really half male and half female.  He starts a new “special class” in which the students have to take to graduate. In this dream world each student takes on their true form and for Mashiro, that form is a girl.   Mashiro struggles with who he wants to be and who he really should be. In the mix is Kureha, his sometime girlfriend who hates men due to trauma as a child and Sou, a lady’s man who pursues Mashiro relentlessly while insisting that Mashiro is a girl. 

The series is really about self growth and realization of what it means to be yourself and not worry about what others may think. It touches on the trauma that we all carry inside of us and how we deal with that hurt and hopefully find ways to use it to make you stronger. The characters will captivate, the plot is interesting enough and twisted enough to really make you think long and hard about many things and I can honestly say I am sorry the series has ended. 

Yep, I get it now. Based on the series I have read and from talking to the fans of manga, I have much respect for this maligned arena of reading. I am surprised at the depth of the material covered in a graphical format almost everytime I pick up a series.  This isn’t fluffy, mindless stuff and if you have a teenager or friend who likes manga-you should know that there is much more inside of them for having read manga.  2008. Rated OT, Older teen.